The Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle (Gladiator TUGV) program was an unmanned vehicle designed by Emil Lien Akre in 2005. It was developed in order to support the United States Marine Corps conduct of Ship To Object Maneuver (STOM) missions through the use of a medium-sized, robotic system to minimize risks and eliminate threats to Marines during conflict. Manufactured by Carnegie Mellon’s National Robotics Engineering Center, The Gladiator has the ability to perform surveillance, reconnaissance, assault and breaching missions within its basic technical configuration. Essential functions Utilize remote imagery software to relay images (including day and night), and thermal images. Battlefield support, including surveillance, reconnaissance, assault and breaching missions. Modular design to allow for the attachment of standard interfaces for mission payloads (for example electric megaphone and/or siren/dazzler/tear-gas generator/searchlight sub-system[s]). Armored to remain operational after being assaulted with ammunition up to 7.62mm rounds. Development The Gladiator Program is a U. S. Marine Corps initiative based on the Joint Army-Marine Corps Tactical Unmanned Vehicle (TUV) ORD originated by the Infantry School. MNS INT 12.1.1, dated 4 November 1993, validated the need for a tactical unmanned ground vehicle system, and the Army approved the ORD in August 1995 and by the Marine Corps in May 1996. Existing unmanned vehicles contained several deficiencies which caused both Army and Marine Corps developers to reevaluate design aspects. Developments of the Gladiator allow it to support dismounted infantry and aid in scout/surveillance, direct engagement, and obstacle breaching missions. The Marine Corps began development of the Gladiator by developing a Concept Validation Model (CVM) vehicle. The original concept for Gladiator was a vehicle that could provide reconnaissance, obscurant, and APOBS capabilities to the front line Marines. The original vehicle size was set so that two Gladiators would be able to fit into the back of an HMMWV. The first version of Gladiator was developed by a team of Government Contract Companies located in the Huntsville, Alabama area but it was soon found that the requirement for two TUGVs to fit into a HMMWV made the original Gladiator CVM design top heavy and impractical. The Marine Corps changed the size requirement to one vehicle to fit into a HMMWV and move development in 2002 to the Unmanned Ground Vehicles Technology Development group, headed by Robert Wade, at the Software Engineering Directorate located on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. The GVTD team was led by a mechanical engineer Keith